The letter to Titus (NTiR)

By | September 24, 2010

Bible and magnifying glassI am on to Paul’s tricks. Before the letters to Timothy, I would’ve expected this letter to be written by Titus. But Timothy taught me that these letters are still from Paul, and the book names are who Paul was writing to. I probably should’ve known better, since, for example, Romans was a letter from Paul to the Romans. There’s a difference, though, in a book named for a church compared to a book named for an individual person.

Or at least that’s the excuse I’ll hide behind

2 Timothy ended with Paul describing the end-times and his sense of impending doom. Paul was expecting both the end of the world, and his own death. In that order. Will Titus continue on this theme?

Epistle of Paul to Titus

Chapter 1

Paul apparently abandoned Titus in Crete, leaving Titus to stay with the church in Crete so Paul could go forth and appoint elders in every city. Paul lays the same qualifications that an elder needs to meet, and they match exactly what Paul listed to Timothy. They are also just as boring. [yawn]

Paul warns Titus of people who will try and corrupt believers. Oddly enough, Paul explicitly lists Jewish converts among those who must be watched. These converts can apparently ruin whole families, all for the love of money. And we have been told by Christ himself that the love of money is the root of all evil. Apparently that holds true even in the early Christians. And really, why would they be exempt?

Oh, Paul gives a little more detail for the myths he warned about in 2 Timothy. Apparently these are Jewish myths, and they can indeed lead people away from the gospel. These people deny god by their actions, even though they say that they believe.

Chapter 2

This is Paul’s standard exhortation for how Christians should live. Men should be patient and reverent, women should be submissive, slaves should obey their masters. We’ve heard all of this multiple times already. Moving on…

Chapter 3

Paul gives another list – this book could be titled Lists! – this time about how Christians should behave. Lord I wish that today’s Christians actually lived by these traits. Christians are not supposed to insult anyone. They are not to be argumentative. They should be gentle and be courteous to all. Amen to that!

Conclusion

Wow, this book is already over. Hooray for brevity!

Up next: The most forgettable book in the New Testament

New installments of The New Testament In Review will be posted each Tuesday and Thursday. The new posts will always be on my blog, http://biffster.org. The entire series is accessible via http://biffster.org/ntir. If you are one of my Facebook friends, you can get an advance preview on my Facebook page. You can also follow me (@biffster) on Twitter to be alerted to new posts.

One thought on “The letter to Titus (NTiR)

  1. Pingback: Paul’s letter was so nice, he wrote it twice – 2 Timothy (NTiR) - Biffster's World

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